


song beneath the song

by hurricaneamelia



Category: Grey’s Anatomy
Genre: F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, also this is all in lowercase for the aesthetic ™️, bc i wrote it at like 3 am, i dont know how to properly tag things, i love callie sm i wanna hug her, oh well, one shots, this is probably full of typos, this is so gay and soft, uhh songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-17
Updated: 2018-08-17
Packaged: 2019-06-28 15:02:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15709617
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hurricaneamelia/pseuds/hurricaneamelia
Summary: Four times Callie sings to Arizona.





	1. safety and home.

**Author's Note:**

> song used in this chapter -  
> breathe (2 AM) by anna nalick

callie isn’t afraid to admit she’s exhausted. she’s had a long day, full of surgeries and annoying interns bothering her with stupid questions. she’s happy to come home and take off her shoes, change into an old t-shirt and underwear, and just relax. arizona, on the other hand, is still trying to push through the day. she’s been working on a difficult case with conjoined twins, and it’s taken up most of her energy. however, she’s sitting on the floor of her and calliope’s shared apartment, charts from similar cases scattered around on the floor. she’s jotting down notes everywhere (callie is pretty sure that arizona’s written something on her hand once or twice). her hair is tied back in a messy ponytail, sweat beading on her forehead. callie, noticing her girlfriend’s stress, is determined to make her settle down. she sneaks up behind arizona with a blanket in her hands, kneeling behind the blonde and carefully draping her with the fluffy material. she sees arizona’s shoulders relax immediately, however her hands continue to glide from one chart to another. ‘arizona,’ callie whispers, carefully undoing her girlfriend’s hair from the ponytail. she runs her fingers through it continuously, knowing it was a weakness of arizona’s. 

‘calliope, i’m working,’ arizona chastises, shaking her head in a small attempt to move callie’s hands away. 

‘you’ve been working all day, sunshine, you deserve a little break,’ callie says with a soft hum, her hands sliding down arizona’s arms. she interlocks her fingers with those of the blonde’s, stalling her frantic writing. ‘i think it’s time to put the charts away, hm?’ arizona slowly nods, letting out a breath she didn’t notice she was holding in.

‘i know. i know, but i need to figure this out. i can’t let these kids die because i was too stupid to find an answer in time.’ a single tear falls down her cheek, and she tries to ignore it. callie doesn’t. she releases arizona’s hand and carefully wipes the tear with her thumb. 

‘arizona, you are anything but stupid. you’re the best pediatric surgeon i know, and you can figure this out. you have plenty of time for a break.’ she feels arizona lean back against her chest. blue eyes meet brown, and arizona can’t stop herself from settling in her girlfriend’s arms. she’s still stressed, as is visible by her shaky hands. callie hugs her tight, humming the first few notes of a song.

_‘two am and she calls me ‘cause i’m still awake, can you help me unravel my latest mistake? i don’t love him, winter just wasn’t my season…’_

arizona lets go of the pen she’s been using, letting callie hold her ink-stained hands. singing has always been the best way to calm her down, ever since she was a child. her brother would sing her to sleep before her first day at a new school, or after her family moved to a new town. it made her feel safe, more than any touch ever could.

_’no one can find the rewind button, girl, so cradle your head in your hands...and breathe, just breathe.’_


	2. forever + please don’t go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song used -  
> running on sunshine by honestly idk, i just got all the lyrics from the grey’s musical episode

arizona can’t believe she let calliope drag her into this. she knew when richard suggested a ‘grey sloan karaoke party’, callie wouldn’t be able to stay away from it. arizona would rather stay home with sofia, but callie made it evident that it wasn’t an option. so, after convincing meredith to babysit sofia, arizona found herself sitting at a bar next to callie, watching richard and a reluctant catherine avery do an off-key rendition of marvin gaye’s ‘ain’t no mountain high enough.’ callie was grinning and dancing in her seat, swaying and tapping her foot to the beat. arizona rolled her eyes and took a large sip of her tequila as she watched richard dance around catherine. she applauded and gave the duo a supportive smile as the song ended and they walked offstage. when she looks back to the seat next to her, callie’s gone. she gasps as she notices her girlfriend approaching the stage in her sparkly black dress. _only calliope can make karaoke hot,_ she thinks as she places her glass of tequila on the bar, leaning forward to watch callie. she groans as she hears the song, knowing how much callie loves to dance to it at their apartment. she watches as callie grabs the microphone with one hand, flipping her hair with the other.

_‘girl, you got me trippin’ on sunshine! god knows you just made my day…’_

arizona can practically feel herself blushing, because callie is staring at her while she sings. calliope’s voice does things to her, and she can’t help it. she giggles to herself as callie takes the mic from the stand, swaying across the stage. 

_‘girl, you got me thinking ‘bout diamonds! gettin’ down on one knee, maybe two…’_

as she sings those words, callie dramatically falls to her knees, staring at arizona the entire time. _fuck._ arizona is grinning like an idiot, and she covers her face with her hands to hide it. 

_‘you got me runnin’ on sunshine, ain’t no clouds gettin’ in my way…’_

callie stands up slowly, and by the time arizona realizes she’s walking towards her seat, it’s too late. callie is pulling arizona onto the stage with her, not breaking eye contact for even a second. she hears a cheer from the crowd that’s definitely amelia, causing her to laugh and bury her head in callie’s shoulder. callie responds with a chuckle, twirling arizona around with her free hand.

_‘somethin’ tells me your name is lucy! ‘cause everything keeps shaking around…’_

the way callie is moving against her is way too inappropriate for richard webber to be watching. arizona is sure her face is at least ten different shades of red by now (one of those shades being calliope’s lipstick). 

_‘we can cop a room, make these walls go boom! we could do this right here and now, now, now!_


	3. i could be your morning sunrise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song used -  
> she keeps me warm by mary lambert.

arizona wakes up to the best thing possible: callie’s voice and the smell of bacon.

_’she says i smell like safety and home...’_

callie is half-singing, half-humming along to the song on the radio as she pours two mugs of coffee. arizona, noticing she’s naked, grabs a bathrobe and wraps it around herself before walking into the kitchen. callie is so occupied with singing and cooking that she doesn’t see arizona enter the kitchen. the blonde stands and watches as callie bounces around, somehow managing to hit every note of the song perfectly.

_‘i could be your morning sunrise, all the time, all the time, yeah...’_

she looks adorable, her black her flying around as callie spins around, grabbing two pieces of toast from the toaster and putting them on separate plates. Her singing gets softer as she closes her eyes, allowing herself to get lost in the music.

_and i can’t change, even if i tried. even if i wanted to...my love, my love, my love, my love; she keeps me warm.’_

arizona takes this opportunity to sneak up behind callie, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend’s waist. callie gasps and her eyes shoot open, turning to face arizona. ‘hey! don’t sneak up on me like that,’ she says through soft laughter. arizona smiles and kisses the tip of callie’s nose.

‘i’m sorry, it was just too tempting. you were wide open,’ she points out. callie shrugs, knowing she has a tendency to get lost in her own world while singing. ‘it was really cute, though,’ arizona follows up. callie blushes and ducks her head, grabbing one of the plates and handing it to arizona.

‘here, i made you breakfast. normally, i’d make more, but we have to go into work soon. i had to make something that wouldn’t take a long time.’ arizona grins and takes the plate from callie, immediately biting into the bacon. 

‘it’s amazing,’ she mumbles with a full mouth. ‘thank you, calliope.’ 

callie grins as she grabs her own plate, biting into the corner of her toast. ‘you’re welcome.’


	4. not crying on sundays.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> song used -  
> innocent by taylor swift. god what an icon i love her sm

screaming. all she can hear is meredith screaming for help, and derek sobbing in pain. she hears mark crying out for lexie, for as long as he can until he loses consciousness again. she’s terrified—her leg isn’t even the biggest problem. it’s being stuck in the woods, with no clue if she’ll ever be found. she doesn’t know how long she’s been out here—a week, maybe two? lexie is dead, and mark is dying. she might be dying, too. her leg is probably infected by now. she just wants callie more than anything else. she wants callie to hold her and tell her it’ll be okay, but callie isn’t here. she’s probably forgotten about her now. if callie remembered, they would’ve been rescued. arizona sobs at the thought. she’s lost all of her hope. they’re going to die out here with lexie. callie forgot, everyone forgot. arizona buries her head in her hands as she cries, staring down at mark’s head in her lap. she screams, but no one hears.

she’s shaking violently when she wakes up in her bed, covered in sweat. she’s breathing so fast, she can’t manage to calm herself. sobbing heavily, she pushes the blankets off of her. shock courses through her veins when she remembers where she is, and what’s happened to her. her hands grip her hair as she continues to cry, and she barely registers callie’s arms wrapping around her. 

‘mark is dead,’ she says breathlessly. callie nods, pulling arizona close to her. she doesn’t need to ask about the nightmares, because she knows. it’s the same every time. arizona hasn’t slept through the night in weeks. callie knows how to calm her down and help her through the shock.

‘i know, love,’ callie whispers, gently rubbing arizona’s shoulders. ‘i’ve got you now. you’re okay. you’re safe.’

arizona stares up at callie. ‘promise?’ she whispers. she sounds so fragile, it makes calliope’s heart break.

‘i promise. i’m here for you,’ she whispers. arizona is tempted to ask callie to sing her back to sleep, but her girlfriend is a step ahead.

_‘i guess you really did it this time,  
left yourself in your war path.  
lost your balance on a tightrope…  
lost your mind trying to get it back.’_

arizona smiles as calliope wipes away her tears. somehow, callie always made her feel safe. even when everything around her was falling apart, callie was always there.

_‘wasn’t it easier in your lunchbox days?  
always a bigger bed to crawl into…wasn’t it beautiful when you believed in everything?  
and everybody believed in you…’_

callie began to stroke arizona’s hair, her voice quieting a bit. she knew this song always made arizona tired, but most importantly it made her feel safe.

_‘it’s alright, just wait and see, your  
string of lights is still bright to me.   
who you are is not who you’ve been,  
you’re still an innocent…’_


End file.
